Theater
by Rennes
Summary: Mello gives something odd to Matt as they separate to face their deaths. Subtle MelloxMatt.


"We aren't going to come out of this alive, are we?" Matt had asked Mello dully. Mello shook his head no.

Matt dropped his head into his hands.

Sensing his fear, Mello felt obliged to comfort him.

"Don't worry about it too much. It's not like anything here is real anyway. It's all just a show, you know? A competition: who can rule the world, who can catch Kira faster…. That's all it ever really was: some sort of shitty talent show. But maybe we can actually help to make things better for other people, for a change." He paused. "And it won't be so bad if you promise me that we will see each other again."

Matt looked up. "I promise."

He promised himself.

Before the departure of the Mello Theatre of Operations to kidnap Takada, Mello had drawn Matt aside.

"Take this…" He said, holding out a garish and tarnished locket. Matt eyed it distastefully.

"What the hell would I want with a—

"Not the locket, you fucking moron!" Mello had snapped. "There's something inside it. Something I think…just take the damn thing!"

"Alright, alright, Matt said stuffing it hastily into his pocket before the other members of their badass team could see. But what is it for?"

Mello had studied Matt in silence for a moment.

"…..That's for you to think about."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Matt's foot pressed on the accelerator of the shiny red car with surprising calm considering he was being chased by at least twenty Kira crazed criminals. He smiled. How ironic to refer to other people as criminals… Adrenaline pumped through his veins so hard it made his fingers tingle around the wheel. The wailing of the pursuers tires was deafening. Unlike Mello however, who was driving a motorcycle, it would not be possible to swerve off into an alley in order to lose them. At the next intersection, Matt could see ahead that his path had been blocked by a slew of black cars. He jammed on the brakes, making a 360 degree turn before stopping altogether.

Surrounded.

'Jesus, how many guards does this Takada have?' Matt mused, half horrified, half impressed by the formation of cars radiating from him like planets encircling the sun. A mechanical voice ordered him to exit the car. How he detested being spoken to like that…so unfeelingly. It was one of the reasons why he hated Near.

Matt braced himself to march out of the haven of his car and to face certain death, but suddenly stopped. He felt as though he had forgotten something. Something important. His mind landed on it. The locket. Matt had hung it from the rearview mirror as some would hang a minty Christmas tree. It served as a reminder of who he served, who he admired, and who he had devoted his life to.

It was a struggle to attempt to discreetly open the locket under such high scrutiny. Matt felt his anticipation growing in spite of himself, wondering what Mello had thought Matt was important enough to deserve before he died.

The locket opened. Inside was a piece of paper. 'Mello had to tell me something before we both died!' Matt concluded, damn near jubilantly.

Each fold in the paper undone, it lay flat in Matts palm. He turned it over.

Nothing.

There was nothing on the paper. It was just a blank square perhaps 4x4 centimeters.

Matt threw it down, disgusted and ashamed to admit that he had been hoping for…well something a little more to say the least. Throat thick, he again turned to exit the car, but couldn't quite bring himself to do it.

'Why? Why the _hell_ would Mello think that I want or need a stupid square of notebook paper on the last day of our lives?'

'Notebook paper.' The word froze in his mind. '_Note_book paper…surely it couldn't be…'

He hastily grabbed at the paper again. This could only mean….

Matt recalled Shihods voice:

"_Death note users can never go to heaven or to hell"_

As if by instinct, Matt rummaged through his glove compartment, found a blue pen, and uncapped it with shaking fingers.

'A name, a name, I just need a _name_... .' he thought frantically casting about his memory. He selected one of the accomplices from when Mello had worked in the Mafia. 'Write the name, picture the face, write the name and picture…' He had watched Mello do this before. Only forty seconds now.

The mechanical voice outside rose to a scream, demanding that Matt exit the car immediately.

Just thirty more seconds.

The beams from so many headlights trapping him glanced off the red car like spot lights inviting Matt out to perform.

Only ten seconds left……

…..there.

And now Matt understood that he could keep his promise he'd made to Mello that morning.

And redonning his carefree smirk, the goggled boy opened the car door, parted the curtains, and stepped out onto stage.

Fin

I am rather new to this...please review and let me know how I could improve! Thank you for reading!

I'm a sucker for romance, I couldn't resist...I had to go back and add lines because some of the symbolism I realized only made sense in my head...


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